For the first time in years, Virginia Tech doesn't have a competition for their starting quarterback job as they return a truly established QB1 in Kyron Drones. However, the Hokies do have a fascinating backup quarterback battle as we get rolling in fall camp.
To set the scene, we have to resume where this battle left off at the Spring Game where Pop Watson had been battling fellow redshirt freshman Dylan Wittke for the backup QB job and appeared to have the slight edge. Following the Spring Game, Pry had some fairly revealing comments that clearly suggested the Hokies were going to look add a veteran to the room to compete for that backup role.
"We're having those discussions now. We've obviously got some guys in mind that we'll speak with. We'll see where it goes. It's got to be the right group. When you look at Dylan and Pop, and you say 'could one of them be ready by September?' Maybe. But do you want to take that risk? That's something (we'll consider) when we're watching this film. That's why today was so important for those guys," Pry said.
Within days of the Spring Game, Dylan Wittke entered the transfer portal, making it clear that the Hokies did not want to take the risk of having only one non-freshman, scholarship quarterback.
Enter Collin Schlee, the Maryland native who was the starting quarterback for Kent State in 2022 throwing for 2,109 yards and 13 touchdowns, and then was in a QB rotation at UCLA in 2023. Schlee seemed like a great fit on paper when he entered the transfer portal given his dual-threat style that seemed similar to Kyron Drones, but it was reasonable to think that Schlee would look for a starting job at the Group of 5 level.
Instead, Schlee ended up transferring to be a backup for the Hokies over Kentucky (who likely also had him as a backup after adding Georgia's Brock Vandagriff earlier in the offseason), surprising many in the process. For Schlee though, it was about going to a place where he could help a quality program become even better whatever his role may be along with having the chance to be closer to home.
